[Originally published in The Coloradoan on 2/17/12]
Google announced in January that it would be unveiling new changes to its privacy policy, which will allow the tech giant to consolidate data on how you use its services in new ways. Some people are frightened by these changes, citing breach of privacy and an unnecessary invasion by one of the world’s largest Internet companies into our personal lives.
However, the changes are not intended to make you feel like Google is watching you anymore than before. With so many services from Google now readily available and integrated into our daily lives, the major change is that it will now consolidate the data for you and then suggest more services based on your previous choices. Starting March 1, if you want to continue to use Google’s services, this will now be implemented automatically for all users.
With the new policy, by combining the information that Google collects from its popular services, such as Gmail, YouTube or Google searches, Google can more clearly compile the data and offer a user additional related services. And, yes, this will also mean more specifically targeted ads and customized content coming to you based on your previous choices as well. But is that such a bad thing? Because ads are a necessary evil for most web sites to stay afloat, I would rather see ones that I might actually be interested in than ones for products that mean nothing to me.
According to a statement by Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy, product and engineering, “Google’s new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you’ve provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.”
Although the new policy is aimed at creating a better customer experience, there has been immediate resistance from privacy advocacy groups all the way up to the United States Congress. Some people cite the collection of data as going too far to learn what people want while on the Internet.
So how does one get away from Google’s new policy? The policy is going into effect whether you like it or not. One option to prevent this type of data collection is to make sure you are logged out of your Google accounts before you use their services, like Google search. Another option is to use Google privacy tools built for your Internet browser, which would prevent some of your choices from being transmitted to Google.
For more drastic measures, a user can choose not to use Google’s services anymore, but I think we all know how important Google has become in our daily tech lives, and this might not be possible.
Going forward, the changes to this policy will only help to enhance your experience with Google’s services, but if you are concerned with your privacy and how Google uses it, you might need to start looking for a different service.
Stu Crair is owner of The Fort Collins Digital Workshop. Reach him at (970) 980-8091.
Comments are closed.